The Ever Jungle

Chapter 7

In which the rest of the team gets kidnapped

Larken stood in the path, watching as Piercer and Cataleya ran away at top speed into the forest. I wonder what they saw? He thought. Time went on, and slowly but surely the sun began to sink lower in the sky. Kenna and Kollin had sat down on the path, chatting and fidgeting with their hands, not seeming the least bit curious as to where the other two had gone.

"Hey uh, where did Cataleya and Piercer go?" Larken asked, sitting down next to Kollin, "I don't know, why don't you go find them" Kollin suggested, "No you can't! Once the forest gets dark, you should stay on the path, Larken, don't even think about going after them, I'm sure whatever they found must have been important." Kenna blurted, staring into Larkens eyes, with a serious look in her eyes. "But weren't we supposed to stay in a group right? And were supposed to look for Seimeth anyways. Maybe we should keep going and hope they find us?" Larken said, "That's the worst idea ever, we can't just leave them. Especially when we're so close to The Ever Jungle, too dangerous." "But you know what's an even worse idea? Staying out here in the middle of the night with so called thieves running around" Kenna reminded them. "Well then what do you suggest huh?" Kollin said, puffing his golden hair out of his face, "I say we just take turns keeping watch until they get back" "Fine by me" Larken said "You go first." And promptly laid down on the ground and closed his eyes. Kollin rolled his eyes, exasperated. Kenna soon followed, lying down opposite the Larken, leaving her brother to watch for the next few hours.

Larken opened his eyes to the soft sound of dirt being crushed by boots, he glanced around, Kenna lay fast asleep still opposite to him. Larken slowly lifted his head, trying to get a look around. He saw a slender figure dressed in all black leather shorts, a black jacket and a black round brimmed velvet hat with silver designs on the top. Black eyes flashed in the moonlight, the figure stepped closer to Kenna, its hand reached inside its jacket and pulled out a long silver dart with a purple feathered end, and gently raised it above Kenna's neck. Larken bolted upright and lunged at the figure in black, knocking them over. The two tumbled to the ground, Larken sprung up ready to launch himself at the attacker only to have a black velvet gloved hand reach from behind him and cover his mouth, preventing him from yelling to wake Kenna. "Mmph!" He yelled but the hand muffled his cries. He looked up to see a new pair of black eyes stare back at him, inches away from his own eyes.

"I told them to keep their eyes open" a raspy deep voice whispered into Larkens ear, Larken felt a prick in his neck, then everything went blacker than the attackers eyes.

"Let us go! Let us go!" Larken heard Kenna screaming and yelling next to him. He creaked open an eyelid, flashes of sunlight blinded his vision making him close his eyes again. "Larken! Wake up!" Kollin's voice came from somewhere to Larken's right. Painfully, he opened his eyes and looked around him, lush vines and ferns moved below him, Larken jolted, realizing he wasn't flying, he was being carried, and next to him was Kenna still kicking and yelling. "Shut up or I'll tranquilize you again" a voice, female, side from behind Larkens back. Then it made sense, he remembered everything, the figures in black, the words, and the prick in his neck, Kenna was right, they were being kidnapped, Larken and Kenna were on the shoulders of the female speaker, and bound by rope. "What, w-where are we?" Larken said, trying to turn to look a Kenna, "We've been kidnapped dummy" Kollin's voice said. "But why? Where are we?" "You really haven't figured that out yet?" The female voice said again. The Ever Jungle?

"We're in The Ever Jungle, the most feared and dangerous place in the kingdom of Jourana." Kenna responded begrudgingly, "It's only dangerous if you don't understand it, and it's only dangerous to those it dislikes" A deep raspy voice replied. "Ha, you speak as if Jungles have minds and feelings" Kollin said, "No, your right" the deep voice said, "just this one in particular" it said mysteriously. "Let us go!" Kenna screamed again, "Ow!" she yelped, "I'm getting sick of this whining" the female voice carrying Larken and Kenna said as Kenna went limp, and silent too. "Kenna no!" Kollin yelled, then he went silent too. They must have been tranquilized too. Larken went limp too, thinking that if he played dead, we could listen in on the kidnappers' conversations. His train of thought was cut short when his kidnapper carrying him said "We aren't that dumb" and Larken felt a prick in his leg, and promptly passed out once more.